Method for enhancing uplink and downlink coverage between a base station and a user terminal, and electronic device

ABSTRACT

A method for enhancing uplink and downlink coverage is applied in a base station for the benefit of a terminal user. The base station receives from the user terminal an uplink scheduling request and GPS location. In response, the base station determines a penetration loss level of the GPS location, the penetration loss being attenuation of signals when signals penetrate an outer structure of a building. The base station further determines a transmission frequency of the uplink according to the penetration loss level which is set by reference to base station Tables of penetration loss for buildings and areas within its coverage area, generates a scheduling strategy comprising the transmission frequency of the uplink, and sends the scheduling strategy including the transmission frequency of the uplink to the user terminal for use in intercommunication.

FIELD

The subject matter herein generally relates to wireless communication,to a field of 5G communications, and especially relates to a method forenhancing uplink and downlink coverage between a base station and a userterminal, and an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

In existing 5G communication methods, in order to solve a problem ofuplink and downlink coverage of 5G signals being limited, a userterminal farther away from base station adopts low-frequencytransmission of uplink data and high-frequency transmission of downlinkdata to enhance uplink and downlink coverage. A user terminal nearer thebase stations can adopt high-frequency transmission of both uplink anddownlink data. However, when any user terminal transmits uplink data atlow frequency, although the uplink and downlink coverage may beenhanced, the slowed uplink transmission rate may still affect theuser's internet experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the present disclosure will now be described, by wayof embodiment, with reference to the attached figures.

FIG. 1 is a running environment diagram of a method for enhancing uplinkand downlink coverage between a base station and a user terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for enhancing uplink anddownlink coverage between a base station and a user terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thedifferent figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments described herein can be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevantfeature being described. Also, the description is not to be consideredas limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawingsare not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may beexaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the presentdisclosure.

The present disclosure, including the accompanying drawings, isillustrated by way of examples and not by way of limitation. Severaldefinitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in thisdisclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and suchreferences mean “at least one”.

The term “module”, as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardwareor firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in aprogramming language, such as, Java, C, or assembly. One or moresoftware instructions in the modules can be embedded in firmware, suchas in an EPROM. The modules described herein can be implemented aseither software and/or hardware modules and can be stored in any type ofnon-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Somenon-limiting examples of non-transitory computer-readable media includeCDs, DVDs, BLU-RAY, flash memory, and hard disk drives. The term“comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; itspecifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in aso-described combination, group, series, and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates a running environment of a method for enhancinguplink and downlink coverage. The method is applied in a user terminal 1and a base station 2. The user terminal 1 is communicatively connectedwith the base station 2. For example, the user terminal 1 transmitsuplink data to the base station 2 and/or receives downlink datatransmitted by the base station 2. In one embodiment, the user terminal1 can be a device such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebookcomputer, a wearable device, or a desktop computer. The base station 2is a 5G base station.

FIG. 2 illustrates the method of this disclosure for enhancing uplinkand downlink coverage. The method is provided by way of example, asthere are a variety of ways to carry out the method. Each block shown inFIG. 2 represents one or more processes, methods, or subroutines carriedout in the example method. Furthermore, the illustrated order of blocksis by example only and the order of the blocks can be changed.Additional blocks may be added or fewer blocks may be utilized, withoutdeparting from this disclosure. The example method can begin at block101.

At block 101, when detecting that data is to be transmitted, the userterminal 1 sends an uplink scheduling request and a location of the userterminal 1 to the base station 2.

In one embodiment, the uplink scheduling request includes Channel StateInformation (CSI) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). In oneembodiment, the CSI includes channel characteristic information. Forexample, the CSI includes information as to signal scattering andattenuation of signal energy with distance.

In one embodiment, the user terminal 1 obtains the location of the userterminal 1 according to a Global Positioning System (GPS) positioningdevice set in the user terminal 1. When detecting that data needs to betransmitted, user terminal 1 sends the location of the user terminal 1and the uplink scheduling request to the base station 2.

At block 102, in response to the uplink scheduling request, the basestation 2 determines a penetration loss level of the position.

In one embodiment, a building-based penetration loss exists in anyuplink or downlink between the user terminal 1 and the base station 2.The penetration loss of the building is the attenuation of signalstransmitted by the user terminal 1 and the base station 2 when thesignals penetrate an outer structure of a building. The penetration lossaffects an uplink coverage and a downlink coverage between the userterminal 1 and the base station 2. In one embodiment, the penetrationloss of the building is equal to a difference between a first median offield strength outside the building and a second median of fieldstrength inside the building. The penetration loss of the building isrelated to a structure of the building, types and sizes of doors andwindows of the building, and height of the building. In one embodiment,the higher the frequency of signals used in the uplink or downlink, thegreater will be the penetration loss.

In one embodiment, the base station 2 determining a penetration losslevel of the position includes: the base station 2 determining whether adistance between the user terminal 1 and the base station 2 exceeds apreset distance range according to the location of the user terminal 1;when the distance between the user terminal 1 and the base station 2exceeds the preset distance range, the base station 2 querying a firstrelationship table 20 to determine the penetration loss level of theposition, where the first relationship table 20 defining relationshipsbetween different locations and different levels of penetration loss;when the distance between the user terminal 1 and the base station 2 iswithin the preset distance range, the penetration loss level beingplaced at a preset level.

In one embodiment, when the user terminal 1 is located in surroundingsof a building with a metal shell structure or a special metal framestructure and in a metropolitan area, the base station 2 determines thatthe penetration loss level corresponding to such location is a firstloss level. When the user terminal 1 is located in the surroundings of abuilding with a reinforced concrete structure and in the metropolitanarea, the base station 2 determines that the penetration loss levelcorresponding to the position is a second loss level. When the userterminal 1 is located in the surroundings of a building with reinforcedconcrete structure and in a medium-sized urban area, the base station 2determines that the penetration loss level corresponding to the locationis a third loss level. When the user terminal 1 is located in an emptyarea, the base station 2 determines that the penetration loss levelcorresponding to the location is a fourth loss level. In one embodiment,the base station 2 stores a dot matrix map or an electronic maprecording the location of the buildings within its coverage. When thedistance between the user terminal 1 and the base station 2 exceeds thepreset distance range, the base station 2 queries the dot matrix map orthe electronic map according to the location of the user terminal 1 todetermine the surroundings of the position of the user terminal 1. Thefirst relationship table 20 is also queried as to the surroundings ofthe user terminal 1 to determine the penetration loss levelcorresponding to the position. In one embodiment, a penetration lossvalue of the first loss level is greater than that of the second losslevel, the penetration loss value of the second loss level is greaterthan that of the third loss level, and the penetration loss value of thethird loss level is greater than that of the fourth loss level. In oneembodiment, the preset level is the same as the fourth loss level.

At block 103, the base station 2 determines a transmission frequency ofthe uplink according to the penetration loss level, and generates ascheduling strategy including the transmission frequency of the uplink.

In one embodiment, the base station 2 determining the transmissionfrequency of the uplink according to the penetration loss levelincludes: the base station 2 querying a second relationship table 30according to the penetration loss level to determine the transmissionfrequency of the uplink corresponding to the penetration loss level,where the second relationship table 30 defines penetration loss levelsand respective transmission frequencies of the uplink.

In one embodiment, when the penetration loss level is the first losslevel, the base station 2 determines that the transmission frequency ofthe uplink corresponding to the first loss level is 1.8 GHz. When thepenetration loss level is the second loss level, the base station 2determines that the transmission frequency of the uplink correspondingto the second loss level is between 1.8 GHz and 2.3 GHz. When thepenetration loss level is the third loss level, the base station 2determines that the transmission frequency of the uplink correspondingto the third loss level is between 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz. When thepenetration loss level is the fourth loss level or the preset level, thebase station 2 determines that the transmission frequency of the uplinkcorresponding to the fourth loss level or the preset level is 3.5 GHz.

At block 104, the base station 2 sends the scheduling strategy includingthe transmission frequency of the uplink to the user terminal 1.

At block 105, the user terminal 1 transmits the data to be transmittedto the base station 2 according to the transmission frequency of theuplink.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: the base station 2determining a reception frequency of the downlink according to theuplink scheduling request and sending the reception frequency of thedownlink to the user terminal 1; and the user terminal 1 receiving datatransmitted by the base station 2 according to the reception frequencyof the downlink. In one embodiment, the reception frequency is 3.5 GHz.

The base station 2 in the present application can determine thepenetration loss level of the surroundings the user terminal 1 accordingto the location of the user terminal 1, and can determine thetransmission frequency of the uplink according to the level ofpenetration loss. The user terminal 1 sends the data to be transmittedto the base station 2 according to the uplink transmission frequencydetermined by the base station 2, so as to enhance the uplink anddownlink coverage of the signal, and avoid the problem of uplink anddownlink coverage being unbalanced caused by a long distance between theuser terminal 1 and the base station 2. Furthermore, the user terminal 1can select appropriate transmission frequency of the uplink to transmitdata according to the location of the user terminal 1, which improvesthe data transmission rate.

FIG. 3 illustrates the electronic device 10. The electronic device 10includes a communication unit 13, a processor 14, a storage 15, and acomputer program 17. The communication unit 13, the processor 14, thestorage 15 may be connected by one or more communication buses 16. Inone embodiment, the communication unit 13 is a 5G communication module.The storage 15 is used to store one or more computer programs 17, thefirst relationship table 20, and the second relationship table 30. Oneor more computer programs 17 are configured to be executed by theprocessor 14. The one or more computer programs 17 include a pluralityof instructions. When the plurality of instructions is executed by theprocessor 14, the method for enhancing uplink and downlink coverageexecuted on the electronic device 10 can be realized, achieving thefunction of enhancing uplink and downlink coverage of the electronicdevice 1. In one embodiment, the electronic device 10 includes a userterminal 1 and/or a base station 2.

In one embodiment, a computer storage medium in which computerinstructions are stored is also disclosed. When the computerinstructions are executed on the electronic device 10, the electronicdevice 10 is caused to execute the above related steps of the method torealize the method for enhancing uplink and downlink coverage in aboveembodiment.

In one embodiment, the present application also provides a computerprogram product. When the computer program product is executed on thecomputer, the computer is caused to perform the above related steps ofthe method to realize the method.

In one embodiment, the present application also provides a device, whichcan be a chip, component or module, and the device can include aconnected processor and a storage. The storage is used to store computerexecution instructions. When the device is running, the processor canexecute the computer execution instructions stored in the storage toenable the chip to execute the method for enhancing uplink and downlinkcoverage in the above embodiments.

The exemplary embodiments shown and described above are only examples.Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the presentdisclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, togetherwith details of the structure and function of the present disclosure,the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in thedetail, including in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of theparts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to andincluding the full extent established by the broad general meaning ofthe terms used in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of enhancing uplink and downlinkcoverage between a base station and a user terminal, applicable in auser terminal, the method comprising: when data to be transmitted isdetected, sending an uplink scheduling request and a location of theuser terminal to the base station; receiving a scheduling strategy fromthe base station, wherein the scheduling strategy comprises atransmission frequency of an uplink; and transmitting the data to betransmitted to the base station in the transmission frequency of theuplink.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:receiving a reception frequency of a downlink transmitted by the basestation; and receiving first data transmitted by the base station in thereception frequency of the downlink.
 3. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the uplink scheduling request comprises Channel StateInformation (CSI) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).
 4. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein the location of the user terminal isobtained according to a Global Positioning System (GPS) positioningdevice of the user terminal.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1,further comprising: Selecting the transmission frequency of the uplinkto transmit data according to the location of the user terminal.
 6. Anelectronic device comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory storagemedium coupled to the processor and configured to store a plurality ofinstructions, which cause the processor to: send an uplink schedulingrequest and a location of the electronic device to a base station whendata to be transmitted is detected by the electronic device; receive ascheduling strategy comprising a transmission frequency of an uplinkfrom the base station; and transmit the data to be transmitted to thebase station in the transmission frequency of the uplink.
 7. Theelectronic device as recited in claim 6, wherein the plurality ofinstructions is further configured to cause the processor to: receive areception frequency of a downlink transmitted by the base station; andreceive first data transmitted by the base station in the receptionfrequency of the downlink.
 8. The electronic device as recited in claim6, wherein the uplink scheduling request comprises Channel StateInformation (CSI) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).
 9. Theelectronic device as recited in claim 6, wherein the location of theelectronic device is obtained according to a Global Positioning System(GPS) positioning device of the electronic device.
 10. The electronicdevice as recited in claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions isfurther configured to cause the processor to: select the transmissionfrequency of the uplink to transmit data according to the location ofthe electronic device.